Center for Trauma Counseling is a community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We receive funds through charitable contributions from government, foundations and private donors. We are able to serve you as long as you meet our criteria and we have sufficient amounts of contributions to our organization.

You will need to commit to at least eight sessions to start seeing any progress.

Everyone goes through challenging situations in life. While you may have been successful resolving other difficult situations in the past, you may need extra help now. The aftermath of a traumatic event is when you can most benefit from professional help. Our mental health services help residents of Palm Beach County. And we are confident we can help you.

The good news is you have self-awareness to realize you need help today. That is something you should admire about yourself. By contacting a mental health counselor you are taking responsibility for your health. You are also helping to rebuild your life.

Emotional trauma counseling provides long-lasting benefits and support. It gives you the tools you need to avoid triggers and re-direct damaging patterns. It can also help you overcome whatever challenges you face. These challenges may include:

• Going through a major change as a result of divorce, death of a loved one or loss of your home or source of income
• Medical crisis or new diagnosis
• Reentering society after being a victim of violence
• Suffering from depression and/or anxiety following a traumatic event

Emotional trauma counseling is what we specialize in as part of our mental health services. It is different for everyone. You can expect to discuss the current events in your life. You’ll share your personal history relevant to your issue. And you’ll report the progress you make plus any new insights you gained from the previous therapy session.

Depending on your needs, your therapy can be short-term for a specific issue. Or it may be longer-term to help you deal with deeper issues. You may find you can get more out of a longer term treatment if you may have difficult patterns or desire more personal development. Either way, it is most common to schedule sessions with your mental health counselor each week or two.

You will get more results from trauma counseling if you actively participate in the process. The goal of therapy is to help you bring what you learn in session into your life. Therefore, beyond the work you do in sessions, your mental health counselor may suggest some things you can do outside of therapy to support your process. This may include reading a book or journal on certain topics. It may include noting certain behaviors. Or it may involve taking action on your goals.

Again, you’ll get the most out of trauma counseling if you are ready to make positive changes in your life.

Medication alone cannot provide a long-term solution to mental and emotional problems and the pain they cause. Medication treats symptoms. But it does not treat the root cause. Mental health counselors do not prescribe or dispense medication.

Psychotherapy can help you find and treat the cause of your emotional problems. But it does not resolve your problems overnight.

At times you can grow a greater sense of well-being with an integrative approach to wellness. By working with your mental health counselor and medical doctor you can determine what’s best for you. In some cases a combination of medication and therapy is the right course of action – at least in the short term. But you’ll likely need psychotherapy for a longer time.

Our mental health services include EMDR. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is a psychotherapy treatment approach. It “unfreezes” painful stuck memories, feelings and sensations. It brings those components to a healthy resolution so you can learn from them.
EMDR accelerates the healing process. It does this without having to remember or talk about the details of events. Often times, symptoms such as anxiety, anger, irritability, depression, and inability to concentrate can be due to upsetting experiences that you have not digested or processed in your nervous system.

EMDR offers a natural and non-intrusive way for you to heal your own pain. You can reorganize this information in a manner that you learn from. And you can do this without having to re-experience the negativity of its original effects.

EMDR uses dual attention stimulation in the form of right-left eye movements, tactical stimulation, tones, or music while you focus on the target issue. This dual attention is what facilitates the healing process.

In sum, EMDR helps resolve the targeted issues so you can return to your normal state of functioning and continue on in your world.

You can see an example of EMDR here:

• www.emdrmovie.com
• www.emdria.org

Yes. Our mental health services involves trust between the client and mental health counselor. When you begin therapy, Center for Trauma Counseling will provide you with our confidential disclosure agreement. In it you will see that we do NOT discuss your case to anyone without your permission. You may permit us through “informed consent” to update your healthcare team on your progress.

By state law and professional ethics, therapists must maintain confidentiality except for the following situations:

• Suspected past or present abuse or neglect of children, adults, and elders to the authorities, including Child Protection and law enforcement, based on information the client provides or through collateral sources.
• If the therapist has reason to suspect you the client is seriously in danger of harming yourself or has threatened to harm someone else.

Our mental health services are prompt. But when you begin therapy is up to you. The earlier you begin, the sooner you can recover and heal from your trauma.

Please call our office at 561-444-3914 if you have any further questions about our mental health services and to schedule an appointment.